'Compelling, intense storytelling' Julia Green
'Spectacularly good' Jonathan Stroud

What calls across the centuries to three girls drawn together to lay to rest an ancient evil in the woods?

60 AD
A blackbird calls a warning. Aine, a slave girl running away from her Roman masters, pauses to listen as she lifts a totemic, druid carving she's found in the tunnel where she's hiding. The last thing she sees is a tangle of matted fur, a sheaf of claws, a flash of fangs, as she unleashes a hungry animal presence.

1783 AD
Centuries later, white witch Sarah Gibson wanders the woods in search of refuge. She's at ease here with the changing seasons, the plants and animals, until one moonlit night, she senses Aine's terror. The blackbird calls a warning, but Sarah wants to help Aine's restless spirit.

Present day
Marie has dropped out of art college and is staying with her aunt for a while. But the woods nearby are hiding something. Marie can feel it. She hears the local gossip about tragic happenings there. Hopelessly caught by the ghostly voices of the past that echo uneasily in her present, Marie must pit her wits against powerful old magic.

What calls across the centuries to three girls drawn together to lay to rest an ancient evil in the woods?

About the Author

Finbar Hawkins is a graduate of the Bath Spa MA in Writing for Young People. He grew up in Blackheath, London and now lives in Wiltshire with his family, in a landscape steeped in myth and legend. He is a creative director for film and animation, including Wallace and Gromit among his credits. Finbar's debut novel, Witch, shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award and nominated for the 2022 Carnegie medal, and his second novel, Stone, are also published by Zephyr.

finbarhawkins.com | X/Instagram: @finbar_hawkins

Reviews
'As enticing as a flickering candle burning in the dark, Ghost is deft, original and terrifying. A book to raise the pulse and haunt the imagination - spectacularly good!' * Jonathan Stroud *
'Unsettling, deeply beautiful, and rich in atmosphere, Ghost is a tremendous page-turner you'll struggle to put down. Memorable, strange, and haunting, I loved every page!' * Liz Hyder *
'A powerful and gripping ghost story as chilling and suspenseful as a walk alone through the woods on a midwinter night... Finbar Hawkins has a gift for making myth and magic thrillingly real, woven into the world around us. Spellbinding storytelling that will haunt the imagination long after the final page.' * Clare Furniss *
'Finbar draws us into his ghostly tale with his own special dark magic! Compelling, intense storytelling' * Julia Green *
'With whispers of mythology yet totally fresh, Ghost is woven with haunting gossamer prose... I was held in the story's exquisite spell from start to finish' * Rachel Delahaye *
There is real magic here... Perfect reading for a dark, stormy night * Irish Times Weekend on Witch *
Hawkins' descriptive power is considerable * Financial Times on Witch *



Book Information
ISBN 9781837933075
Author Finbar Hawkins
Format Hardback
Page Count 240
Imprint Zephyr
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC